Beweis und Rotes Haar
by phoenixlark
Summary: Miles Edgeworth is studying the German legal system when Franziska approaches him with a case: have her cousin declared guilty of murder. When he meets her red haired violinist cousin named Lorelei Jäger, he can't find any motive for her to have committed the crime. WARNING: Quite a bit of German is used. Rated T for Lorelei's smart mouth and a possible upcoming case.
1. Der Anfang

The streets of Berlin were freezing cold as the red-haired woman trudged through the snow in her ankle-high boots. She pulled her black beanie over her ears as the icy wind nipped at them. She would hate to lose them. As a musician, she needed her ears for her work. A gust of cold wind blew straight through her and the woman clutched her arms to her body and shivered. She wished that she didn't have to pick up her violin tonight, the coldest night of winter so far, but she needed her instrument for her classes at the Universität the next day.

The woman glanced up and saw that she was only three block away from the instrument repair shop.  
"If I can just make it for a little bit longer," she thought, "I can pick up my instrument and hurry home!"  
The woman sighed as she pictured herself curled up under a nice fluffy blanket with a cup of hot Swiss chocolate while listening to a Mozart CD. She felt her toes tingle as she imagined how the hot chocolate would feel running down her throat... she couldn't wait!

She saw the shop looming up ahead of her, the neon "OPEN" sign flashing on the white snow.  
"Just a few more steps and I'll be fine," she muttered.  
She ran the last stretch of the pavement to the shop door and pushed it open. A bell clanged to announce her arrival to the shop's owner.  
„Ah, hallo Frau Jäger! Wie geht es Ihnen?"  
„Guten abend, Herr Müller. Mir ist gut, aber mir ist kalt!"  
Herr Müller laughed. „Ja, Ihre Nase ist rotarose!"  
The woman smiled and rubbed her cold nose with her gloved hand.

„Ah jetzt, Sie wünschen?"  
„Ich brauche meine Violine zurück, bitte."  
Ms. Jäger paid for the work done on her violin and took the case from Herr Müller.  
"Tschuss Frau Jäger!" he called.  
She smiled and waved goodbye as she pushed open the shop's door and stepped outside into the freezing wind.

Her wallet was a bit lighter after paying for the repair job on her violin, but Herr Müller understood violins better than anyone else in Dresden. She had just turned the corner when she heard the sound of breaking glass in the direction of the shop. She quickly turned and saw that all of the lights except for the flashing "OPEN" sign were off.  
"That's strange," she thought.  
Ms. Jäger walked back to the shop with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Something wasn't right... the shop usually didn't close for another hour. She made her way to the shop's door and tried to look through the glass. Everything was pitch dark inside, but she could hear noises coming from inside. It sounded like a rustling, such as someone going through Euro bills. Was someone robbing Herr Müller?!

Ms. Jäger was about to open the door when she remembered that there was a bell tied to the door to make a chiming noise whenever the door was opened. She had to find another way inside. She snuck around the side of the building and saw that the side door was open. Ms. Jäger's stomach twisted into a knot as she crept inside the dark shop. She knew that something terrible had happened as she stealthily crossed the sales floor.

Halfway across the sales floor, the smell of blood hit her nostrils in full force.  
"Oh no! Herr Müller! Where is he?!"  
At that moment, she heard someone behind her.

"Put your hands in the air!"  
Ms. Jäger raised her hands as the intruder started to pat her down for weapons. While he, or she, was distracted with the back pockets of her skinny jeans, Jäger quickly turned around and slammed her violin case into what she thought was the side of the offender's face. She heard a THUNK as it connected with the person's jaw, but he didn't crumple to the ground as she had hoped. He instead ran out of the store through the side door, leaving her alone in the store.

"Herr Müller? Wo sind Sie?"  
She took a few steps towards what she thought was the sales counter and felt something against her shoe. She felt around the wall for a light switch and flipped it on. She screamed when she saw Herr Müller lying on the floor with a cracked skull.

"HALT! POLIZEI!"  
The woman raised her hands in the air, still holding her violin case. She stared in shock at the old man's beaten body as the officer searched her for any weapons.

* * *

Miles Edgeworth expected to have some minor difficulties with becoming re-immersed into the German language, but he didn't expect to have forgotten most of what he knew. He must have been in Los Angeles for much longer than he thought. He didn't dare ask Franziska to translate for him. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of rubbing that in his face possibly auf Deutsch. And there was absolutely no telling what she would call him that he would have to break out the dictionary for. A long winded conversation had been taking place in her office for quite a while now, perhaps over an hour by his watch. Whatever was going on in the prosecutor's office was something serious. All of the other prosecutors and legal aides steered clear of the office door and tried to ignore what snippets of conversation were escaping through the heavy oak doors. This only piqued his curiosity even more. What was it about this case that bothered everyone?

"Ich werde meine Kusine _nicht_ helfen." Franziska snapped at someone in the office. Miles winced at her tone and prepared to hear the crack of her whip, but was surprised when he didn't hear it. Apparently Franziska felt that it wasn't her place to whip this person. Miles couldn't help but wonder exactly who could earn such respect.

The door soon opened and Franziska stormed out ranting about something under her breath as the door slammed shut behind her. He gave her a wide berth as she stormed by him. What was going on in that room?

The door opened and an older man that Miles had never seen before walked out. The man's face was painted with lines of weariness and his eyes had dark smudges of fatigue underneath them. Miles was curious about what was troubling this man, but he felt that it wasn't entirely his place to ask.

"Miles!" Franziska called, "Kommt schon!"  
Miles frowned at her rude addressal, but obeyed nonetheless.  
"I have a case for you," she told him matter of factly.  
"And you decided to accept it for me without my input because...?"  
Franziska frowned. "There is a technicality in German law that bars relatives from defending or prosecuting each other. The man that just left was my uncle."  
"And this involves me how?"  
"Since I cannot prosecute my cousin, you will have to prosecute her for me."

Miles was slightly startled by this revelation. Franziska had a cousin? Why didn't he know this?  
"Your cousin?" he asked, "I never knew that you had a cousin, Franziska."  
Franziska frowned and her grip on her whip tightened.  
"My uncle is a defense attorney. Papa cut all ties with him after he passed the bar exam."  
_"Well that explains it,"_ Miles thought, _"that seems to fit with von Karma's character."_  
"And how am I supposed to help him if I'm a prosecutor?"  
"You're not. You're going to find his daughter guilty."  
Miles' stomach tightened at Franziska's words.  
Guilty? But that was her cousin! They were family! No matter what sort of rivalry there was between Manfred and his brother, it shouldn't have extended to the daughters!  
"Are you sure, Franziska?"  
Franziska glared and snapped her whip in warning.  
"Of course I'm sure, Miles!"  
Miles had to bow out in defeat, metaphorically speaking of course.  
"Where is the detention center?"  
"I'll accompany you there."


	2. Fragen und Antworten

Ms. Jäger sat in the detention center waiting for questioning by the prosecution. She had answered countless questions for the police and was exhausted already. She sighed as she raked her fingers through her long red hair. She had been up all night and it was already eight a.m. She was about to ask the guard if she was allowed to have a cup of coffee when a man in a wine red suit sat before her window.  
"Guten Morgen, Frau Jäger. Wie geht es Ihnen?"  
She couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. Who was this guy?  
„Erm, schlecht," she replied.  
„Sprechen Sie Englisch?"  
Ms. Jäger's eyebrows furrowed at this.  
"Ja, fließend. Warum?"  
"Können wir Englisch sprechen?"  
"Yes, of course."  
The man gave a small smile.  
"Thank you. I am Miles Edgeworth and I will be prosecuting your case. I just need to ask you a few questions about what happened."  
She felt a rush of heat flood through her body at that. Did he have to rub it in?  
"So Ms. Jäger, could you tell me about yourself?"  
"Well, my name is Lorelei Jäger and I'm a violinist. I'm currently attending university."  
"I see," he said, "and what brought you to the victim's shop?"  
Lorelei swallowed at the question. She felt the sting of tears at her eyes as she remembered Herr Müller's blood on the floor.  
"Herr Müller had the best violin shop in all of Berlin. He could repair almost anything on a violin. My violin's neck had started to crack, so I took it to him to see if he could fix it and he did. I was picking it up last night."  
Mr. Edgeworth nodded his head as he tried to search her blue eyes for any sign that she was lying.

"And then what happened?"  
"I left the shop and was on my way home when I heard the sound of breaking glass. I noticed that the shop's lights had been turned off, but the 'OPEN' sign was still on."  
"And what did you do?"  
"Naturally, I went to check on Herr Müller. I entered through an open side door."  
"What did you find in the shop?"  
"Everything was dark," she said, "but I could smell blood. I was trying to find a light switch when I heard someone behind me."  
Lorelei shuddered as she remembered the fear she felt at the encounter.  
"It was a man's voice. He told me to put my hands in the air and I did. Then he started to pat me down for weapons."  
Mr. Edgeworth was a bit surprised at this revelation.  
"Why would he do that?"  
"I have no idea," Lorelei replied, "but as he was fiddling with my back pockets, I turned and swung my violin case at his jaw."  
"A man is threatening you and that's your FIRST reaction?"  
"Well, yeah," she replied. "What else could I do? I wasn't going to let him take me hostage or worse, kill me. And I guess my adrenaline was running high and instead of taking flight, I fought."  
Edgeworth cleared his throat.  
"Well that was quite brave of you."  
"It was more 'stupid' than 'brave,'" Lorelei answered with a slight grin, "You don't have to give me false praise to try to cheer me up, Herr Edgeworth."

Miles had to clear his throat again to cover his slight surprise at her frankness. Ms. Jäger could see right through him!  
"And, uh, what did he do after you hit him?"  
"He ran off," she answered, "I don't know where he ran off to, but I swear that there was another person there."  
Miles couldn't exactly take her word on that no matter how trustworthy she seemed.  
"And did you have a motive for killing the victim?"  
Lorelei's eyes seemed to water at his question.  
"Absolutely not! He was so kind to me... If I couldn't pay for his work, he'd let me work it off in the shop."  
"What would he have you do?"  
"I would mop the floors, polish the violins, wipe the counters, and work the register," she replied.

"I have a few questions for you now, Herr Edgeworth."  
Miles couldn't hide his surprise.  
"And what could you want to know about me?"  
"Did Franziska send you?"  
Miles' face gave Lorelei her answer.  
"Ah, so she did," she said with a smile, "that sounds exactly like her. Like father like daughter, I suppose."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"I may have never met my uncle in person, but I do know about him from the news reports, newspaper articles, and my Vati."  
"And what do you know about him?"  
"That he is obsessed with what he deems to be 'perfect,'" she replied as she twirled a strand of red hair around her pointer finger, "a perfect witness, a perfect testimony, a perfect victory, and, most importantly, a perfect guilty verdict."  
_"Well, she certainly hit the nail right on the head."  
_"From what I understand, Franziska seems to want me to be declared guilty."  
"I couldn't tell you that you're wrong, Ms. Jäger."  
Lorelei gave him a sad smile.  
"I suppose not," she softly replied.  
"You've never met your uncle?"  
"Nope," Lorelei replied as she stifled a small yawn, "he cut all ties with my father after he passed the bar exam and became a defense attorney. My uncle probably felt betrayed by this or something."  
"And I'm assuming that you've never met your cousin, Franziska?"  
"We've met maybe once," she said as she looked up to the ceiling as she tried to remember, "I think we might have attended the same primary school. We obviously went to different Gymnasiums due to our differing career fields."  
"Understandable," Miles replied, "have you had much success as a violinist?"

Lorelei's head of red hair drooped slightly at his question.  
"N-not exactly," she replied.  
"Oh?"  
"Yeah... it's hard to find work as a violinist," she explained, "right now I mainly cameo in music videos because red heads are 'in vogue' right now..."  
"What do you mean by 'cameo'?"  
"Well, I mainly act as sort of a background character I suppose. I usually fawn over the lead singer or something..."  
"F-fawn?"  
"Yeah, you know," she said nonchalantly, "cling to their legs and grab at their pants and clothes. That sort of thing. One time I had to rip some guy's shirt off. At least he was cute."  
Miles felt himself turn red at her description.  
Lorelei laughed as she saw him start to flush with embarrassment.  
"It pays my bills and it puts my name out there in the industry. One day they might need a guest violinist instead of a random token 'hot chick', right?"

"Err... I suppose," Miles responded as he tried to keep himself from blushing.  
_"This woman is so frank about everything!"  
_ "W-what type of music videos do you usually cameo for?"  
"Mainly metal ones. I'm a big fan of doom metal, symphonic metal, folk metal, black metal, industrial metal, and so on."  
Miles was completely clueless to what she was talking about. He mainly listened to classical music himself.  
"You have no idea what I'm talking about do you, Herr Edgeworth?"  
"Well not particularly, no."  
"I'll have to show you what I mean. If you get the chance, look up 'Bring Me Victory'. I'm one of the women in it. You should be able to recognize me."  
"I'll keep that in mind..."  
"It was one of my favorite shoots, personally. My Dying Bride is one of my favorite bands. And the cinematography was just amazing. It was a fun project to be a part of!"  
"It sounds like it was," he replied.  
Lorelei nodded and smiled.  
"Is that all that you needed, Herr Edgeworth?"  
"I have one last question for you, Ms. Jäger," he said, "how old are you?"  
Lorelei laughed and had to cover her eyes to hide the tears running from them. She had become delirious from the lack of sleep.  
"What, are you worried that I'm underage?" she asked in-between her laughs.  
"N-no!" Miles stammered, "It's standard information that I have to know for when I fill out the paperwork for the case!"  
Lorelei wiped her eyes with the back of the sleeve of her floral print sweater as she tried to stop laughing.  
"I'm twenty-three," she replied after she regained her composure, "though I'm curious now. Do I not look my age, Herr Edgeworth?"  
Miles was, once again, taken aback.  
"N-no! I was just double checking!"

"Well, if that's all that you needed, I guess I should take my leave. I haven't gotten any sleep at all," Lorelei yawned.  
"I understand, Ms. Jäger," he said as he rose from his chair, "if I have any additional questions I will let you know."  
"Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Edgeworth."

Miles Edgeworth watched Lorelei get up and walk out of the interview booth. The dark circles under her eyes stood out against her pale skin in the fluorescent lighting. He thought over what Lorelei had told him. He couldn't figure out a motive for her to kill Müller. He couldn't shake the feeling that Franziska was trying to have an innocent person convicted. He sighed as he walked outside of the detention center to go to the crime scene.


End file.
